Lonnie Wright was adamant that he didn’t kill Steve Groover and Cindy Scruggs when detectives interviewed him about the murders on July 25, 2022.
“I was not out there at Steve’s house,” Wright said. “I did not go out there and murder Steve or that girl. Period.”
Wright became a person of interest after the bodies of Groover and Scruggs were found at Groover’s residence at 662 Buck Creek Road on May 16, 2022. He was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, two counts of felony murder, two counts of especially aggravated robbery and one count of auto burglary.
Wright’s trial started at the Roane County Courthouse on Tuesday. His interview with Roane County Sheriff’s Office Detectives Art Wolff and Randy Heidle was played for the jury on Wednesday.
“If I was guilty of this, do you think I would be sitting here talking to you all without a (expletive) lawyer,” Wright said. “I’m not crazy.”
Groover and Scruggs were reportedly stabbed to death.
“There was a lot of blood in many, many places,” Wolff testified on Wednesday about the crime scene.
According to a warrant filed in the case, Wright’s bloody fingerprint was found on a State Farm bill in Groover’s truck. He was confronted about that during his interview with detectives.
“Can you explain that?” Heidle asked.
“A fingerprint came back to me?” Wright responded.
“Yes,” Heidle said.
The back and forth over the fingerprint continued during the interview.
“It puts you there,” Heidle told Wright.
“It don’t put me there,” Wright responded. “It puts my fingerprint on a piece of paper.”
“You were there,” Heidle said.
“I was not there,” Wright responded.
“How do you explain the fingerprint?” Heidle asked.
“On a piece of paper, why didn’t you find my fingerprints on anything else,” Wright responded. “Come on, man.”
Wolff told Wright that he believes something irked Wright that prompted him to kill Groover and Scruggs.
“I don’t think you went out there with the intent to do it,” Wolff said. “That doesn’t seem like how you are. I think something happened. Somebody pushed the wrong button.”
Wolff was the main witness for the prosecution on Wednesday. He showed the State Farm bill with the bloody fingerprint to the jury.
“What is the date of that State Farm bill?” Assistant District Attorney General Jonathan Edwards asked.
“The policy period is Feb. 28 through Aug. 29 of 2022,” Wolff said.
The case against Wright was investigated by the Roane County Sheriff’s Office.
“So your theory in this case as I understand it is that Lonnie Wright drove to the Groover residence in an effort to rob them for money and ended up for whatever reason killing Cindy and Steve?” Defense attorney Matthew Ooten asked Wolff. “Is that correct?”
“Yes, sir,” Wolff responded.
Ooten asked Wolff if he had any evidence that money was taken from the residence.
“No, sir,” Wolff responded.
The shorts that Groover had on when he was murdered were shown to the jury on Wednesday. Ooten asked Wolff to pull out the pockets. There was no blood on the inside of the pockets.
“You’ve already stated that there was a lot of blood at this crime scene, correct?” Ooten asked.
“Yes, sir,” Wolff responded.
“Do you think there would be blood on the inside of those pockets if the perpetrator looked in those pockets?” Ooten asked.
“It would depend on at what point in the crime the perpetrator got blood on their hands,” Wolff responded.
Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks is presiding over the case. Fourteen jurors were seated for the trial, but only 12 will deliberate.
